January 2017 Health Sector Economic Indicators Briefs

Economic Indicators |
January 13, 2017

Health care added a whopping 43,000 jobs in December, well above the 12-month average of 35,000 jobs, and bucking a 4-month trend of below-average growth. National health spending in November 2016 grew at an annual rate of 5.0%, driven by hospital care growth at 5.8%, and restrained by prescription drugs which grew at only 3.5%. And health care prices in November 2016 grew 2.1% above the November 2015 level, fractionally below the 2.2% annual growth rate recorded in October.

Health care added a whopping 43,000 jobs in December, well above the 12-month average of 35,000 jobs, and bucking a 4-month trend of below-average growth. National health spending in November 2016 grew at an annual rate of 5.0%, driven by hospital care growth at 5.8%, and restrained by prescription drugs which grew at only 3.5%. And health care prices in November 2016 grew 2.1% above the November 2015 level, fractionally below the 2.2% annual growth rate recorded in October.